Unforgettable

The 40 Most Influential People and Moments of the Past Four Decades.

Most runners make headlines by moving their feet. Kuscsik got attention by sitting down. Yes, she was the first woman to win the Boston Marathon and was a two-time winner of the New York City Marathon. But it was Kuscsik who led the famous women's sit-down strike at the starting line of the 1972 New York City Marathon to protest women's inequality in marathon running. And it was Kuscsik who lobbied to change the Amateur Athletic Union's rules that prevented women from participating in distance races in the first place. Her activism led to the creation of the first women's Olympic Marathon in 1984. At 67, Kuscsik is no longer running (due to a knee injury) but is still advocating for the underdog as a patient representative at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital. For her, it's a natural instinct. "When you see something that's not fair, and think that you can have some input," she says, "you just go ahead and do it."

Rodgers and the running boom hit the American consciousness at the same moment, and the synchronicity was a benefit to both. Rodgers was a grad student when he emerged as "Boston Billy," the hero of the Boston Marathon in 1975. He won three more times there, and four consecutive times in New York City, and was so unassuming and approachable–like your best friend, only faster–he closed the gap between "elite" runners and mass participants. "It's hard for everyone, the way I look at it," Rodgers, 58, says. "Everybody pays the price and feels the fatigue. I understand the feeling runners have when they're struggling." By racing and earning age-group awards in his 40s and 50s, Rodgers, proved what a "life sport" running could be.

There has never been another American runner quite like Pre, the University of Oregon star who died at 24 in a car accident in 1975, hours after winning a 5000-meter race at Hayward Field. At the time, he held all seven U.S. records from 2000 through 10,000 meters. He won the NCAA 5000 from 1970 through '73, and in 1972 placed fourth in the Olympic 5000. He had rock-star celebrity; fans showered him with "Go, Pre!" chants as he sped down the track, running hard from the start, pushing as he had pushed beyond surrender in all aspects of life. His legacy lives on through one of America's premier track-and-field events–the Prefontaine Classic. "Steve wanted to achieve his goals legitimately and honestly, without taking advantage of others," says rival and friend Frank Shorter. "His memory shows kids that who you are and how you pursue your goals is what's important."